"I love Nintendo, and I think the new console is going to rock - but naming it "Wii" is like naming your kid Richard when your' last name is Head; you're just gimping them unnecessarily from the start.

Maybe a name like "Sii" would have made a better name, as in "See", like seeing is believing or "SEE, we told you your were gonna love it!", or "Sea", relating back the to the Blue Ocean philosophy Nintendo has taken with marketing the console. Damn, even as in "Si", Spanish for YES.

The gaming experience should speak for itself when this thing launches, but I really hope this name doesnt backfire on Nintendo._________________"Prayer is more than getting on your knees. The way you treat people, the way you live and the music we make are all conversations with God. Broaden your idea of what a prayer can be." - Talib Kweli

I can see a lot of branding potential here (ten bucks they use Wiifi at some point in the future) but it's just.... With that one blow, Nintendo completely undid all the work we fans have done against the Xbox/PS blowhards dismissing Nintendo as "kiddy." I think this name works much better in Japan then it does here in the states.

Plus, I just don't like the name. Revolution was a great name! What was wrong with sticking with that? It says a lot more to me then any word variation with two vowels consecutively (except maybe titties)._________________"I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not ... you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas"

Not trying to add to the negativity towards the the new official name, but the commercial didnt do it for me either. I think the mission statement sounded cheesy. It's different, sure, but so far I've been reading it to gamers and non gamers alike and the general consensus is that Nintendo can do WAY better, even with their defense for deciding on the name "Wii"

The name is okay... it just doesnt fit for a game console. Small example:

I showed it to my sister, who has an eye for creativity, and a fashion designer btw. I showed her the logo, without telling her what it was for.

"What do you think of this name"

"Wii?" (she actually pronounced it right)

"Yeah."

<she shrugs and nods> "It's okay. What is it?"

"The name for the next Nintendo console"

"What?!? Hell no!" <laughs>

I proceed to show her the vid and mission statement...

The whole while she's just shaking her head, "Oh my god..."

Finally she walks away, and says "Whoever came up with all that should be fired"

Sorry guys, the name is definitely a buzz generator, but I hope they will reconsider a different name before launch._________________"Prayer is more than getting on your knees. The way you treat people, the way you live and the music we make are all conversations with God. Broaden your idea of what a prayer can be." - Talib Kweli

I agree on the firing. Some people are comparing this to the "Touching is Good" DS campaign but I thought that was a smashing success (partly because it helped shed some of that same image). But I think it's too weeny for gamers and too bleh for mass market. I can understand, I suppose, them wanting a lower key name for the mass market, something less dramatic. But this is just a poor choice, period. I get the feeling this was made without serious input from NoA._________________"I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not ... you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas"

I'm extremely hopeful that after receiving a lot of backlash between now and E3 that Nintendo will go back to Revolution. It just made more sense and encompasses everything that's going on with it. I know I'll buy it regardles of name, but this will hurt other people from supporting it, meaning I'll have less choices for yet another generation.

Although, I tend to buy only first party games anyway because of limited funds._________________I see you...

However, after thinking about it all day and reading every interview and piece of analysis I could find, it makes a lot more sense now.

If what Nintendo is saying is true - that this system is a true 'revolution' in gaming, and that it's NOT aimed at the so-called hardcore population but at the general public in an attempt to greatly expand the market, then it could really work. Revolution was a great name for a console, which was new and different - if you wanted to market it to that 20-something demographic which certain people like to pretend is the entire videogame populace now. However, it's not the name of something that you can see your grandma playing. Or your little sister, to paraphrase the letter on IGN today. It's not something I could see my dad playing - who used to play Space Invaders in college, who played NES and Genesis all the time with me, and which the last game he really got into was Quake II.

Wii, on the other hand... well, it could work. Major emphasis on could at this point. It's inclusive, it's different, and it has connotations on one hand of togetherness and family (we) and FUN on the other (wee!). Of course, in English we have all sorts of other meanings for it... piss, penis, and small come to mind immediately. Which is unfortunate, and why Nintendo will need to have a stellar marketing campaign for it, which history says isn't their style (though honestly I liked the DS Touching ads). However, if they really want that REVOLUTION, they needed that campaign anyways... and I'm sure they're aware of it. It's certainly a fitting international 2000-era gibberish marketing name... I can see it going over swimmingly in Japan and in Europe (even France - the Nintendo Yes... Yes is positive, yes is warm, yes is inclusive). But yeah, the English-speaking world is going to be problematic.

That inclusivity bit is absolutely key. It's completely against the standard grain of adjective-noun number. You know, XTREME STATION 10000 - big, strong, powerful, and 'cool' - not to mention inherently masculine and 'hardcore'. Wii on the other hand is everything Nintendo tries to be (family-friendly) and reaches out to women and to non-gamers... it's a name made to appeal to everyone.

And yeah, it's different. Really, really different. It is a revolution in console naming. It's nothing like the imagery of a GameCube, Genesthe gas, Dreamcast or Odyssey, or the gadget-cool power of a Playstation, XBox or more primitively, NES or TurboGrafx. Not to mention completely eschewing any of the sequelitis that was inherent even in the Nintendo 64.

An interesting sidenote is that the sound 'wi' simply does not exist in traditional Japanese. It's a completely foreign sounding word to them. This fits in well with Nintendo's seeming plan of keeping the (ever-shrinking market) of Japan as its home-base... there especially trying to get people back into gaming, with its retro library, and DS-style non-games.

That's the marketing analysis of the thing. Me persotnally, I still don't know how I think about it. I do like the logo though, and the video on the website. They're definitely going to emphasize the nature of the controller in the advertisements like that, likely using the i's.

What do you think, Brooke?

(P.S. Even if it is total crap, some random board-goer was right - at least tomorrow's PA will be hilarious)

Last edited by Nick on Thu Apr 27, 2006 9:13 pm; edited 1 time in total

On the Japanese note, ii does mean "good." As in "ii namae" as opposed to "warui namae." -_-

And like I said before, I agree with you, Nick that Revolution isn't the best name for a mass playing console. Old foggies hate change, i.e. revolution. And I think whimsical is the right tact to say here. And I think Wii probably works great on the international stage.

But GODDAMN am I gonna have to hear it from the PS/Xbox fanboys for the next five years.

On the PA Note, they did promise a podcast this Friday. That should make it doubly awesome._________________"I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not ... you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas"

You're right. I don't know how I could have forgotten about ii. Mochiron, Nihon ni 'wii' wa ii namae desu.

Agreed about the rest. It's all in the marketing about the type of people who become PS3/360 fanboys. The big N really needs to prove that they really did learn a lot from Apple and market it accordingly.

I just keep thinking about the classic marketing story of the Chevy Nova. Sold decently here, but when GM tried to sell it in Spanish speaking countries it sold like a horse with three legs. Turns out that "No va" means "No Go" in Spanish.

Just sayin'._________________"I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not ... you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas"